Thread: Amazon censorship
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Old 12-17-2010, 09:04 AM   #255
Kali Yuga
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyb View Post
Saying that censorship is exclusive to government action is like ignoring tha the are like a fourth "pillar" in a democracy...
They aren't.

The news media are colloquially referred to as the "fourth branch of government" in the US. That does not mean that news media are obligated to eschew any and all editorial controls, or that retailers are obligated to carry every piece of content available.


Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyb
People ignoring the fact that corporations have the power to literally censor something from parts of public consciousness...
Corporations do not have any obligations to promulgate any ideas or content.

Nor is there any viable mechanism to ensure that all viewpoints are given 100% equal media or retailer attention. What should we do -- supply bookstores with an equal number of books by Noam Chomsky, William F. Buckley and Stephen King? Force retailers to carry incest erotica, and then force people to buy it?


Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyb
This is expressed in the way they believe that only large (that is, governmental) ideas do affect our lives and that only a government does have the power to bring about change....
Incorrect.

It's clear Amazon, Apple, Walmart, Fox and numerous other companies have an influence. That is not the point.

Retailers have the legal and moral right to exercise editorial controls -- even if it does so in a manner that someone (usually the aggrieved party) regards as "unfair." To require Amazon to publish anything and everything is not only highly unusual, it deprives them of their rights to exercise editorial control over their own business.

You, as an individual, have the right to say what you want. But the right to free speech does not, in any way shape or form, guarantee you access to a specific platform for your views or content. If I do not want to distribute your ideas, I am not obligated to do so -- no matter how influential I am.

Amazon is a retailer. They are not a utility, an ISP or a street corner. I suggest you learn the difference.
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